Yahoo Finance Hershey (HSY) Gains But Lags Market: What You Should Know
Hershey (HSY) closed at $260.91 in the latest trading session, marking a +0.48% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 1.45% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 2.12%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 5.41%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the chocolate bar and candy maker had lost 5.45% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Consumer Staples sector's loss of 6.3% and lagged the S&P 500's gain of 1.53% in that time.
Hershey will be looking to display strength as it nears its next earnings release. On that day, Hershey is projected to report earnings of $1.90 per share, which would represent year-over-year growth of 5.56%. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $2.53 billion, up 6.78% from the year-ago period.
Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $9.49 per share and revenue of $11.29 billion. These totals would mark changes of +11.38% and +8.4%, respectively, from last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Hershey. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As such, positive estimate revisions reflect analyst optimism about the company's business and profitability.
Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.04% lower. Hershey is currently a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Looking at its valuation, Hershey is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 27.35. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 22.69, which means Hershey is trading at a premium to the group.
Meanwhile, HSY's PEG ratio is currently 3.57. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. HSY's industry had an average PEG ratio of 3.57 as of yesterday's close.
The Food - Confectionery industry is part of the Consumer Staples sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 119, which puts it in the top 48% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank includes is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
To follow HSY in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.
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Hershey Company (The) (HSY) : Free Stock Analysis Report
